PESHAWAR: The participants of a literary function have termed a newly-published collection of Pashto short stories a true portrayal of the society plagued by numerous issues and evils.

Addressing a book launching ceremony, they said that Pashtun women literati were doing their best to depict true image of the society and the social evils people, especially women, were grappled with.

The ceremony was held at China Cultural Centre to unveil Pashto short stories book titled ‘Tash Lasuna’, authored by Shaheen Amin. Poets, writers and literary critics attended the event.

Speakers shed light on various aspects of the newly-published book and appreciated the choice of topics and critical portrayal of all the issues showcased in the stories. They said that Shaheen Amin enlisted her name among the top fictionists, who were devoted to a true depiction of the society’s image.

Book launching ceremony held at China Cultural Centre

Prof Gulzar Jalal Yousafzai, who was chief guest on the occasion, dwelt on three epochs of Pashto fiction.

He equated Ms Amin with noted women fictionists of the sub-continent and even European literati.

He said that her style of expression and treatment of every single story in the context of societal issues could best place the stories of ‘Tash Lasuna’ on the high podium of literary pieces.

Naz Pervin, noted Urdu writer and host of the China Window, in her opening remarks said that China Cultural Centre not only promoted Chinese arts, history and culture but also worked for uplifting local cultural and linguistic diversity.

“Cultural and literary events on wide range of topics are arranged at China Window every now and then and the launching ceremony of Shaheen Amin’s book is a good example in this regard,” she said.

Attiya Hidayatullah, another writer, remarked that Ms Amin’s stories served as representation of real life characters drawn from the society.

“It is in fact a very fine commentary on plight of women and the author should be credited for her creative strength of storytelling art,” she added.

Poet and rights activist Dr Roshan Kalim said on the occasion that the new collection of short stories crafted image of society and the author deserved their kudos.

Pashto writer Samina Qadir, anchorperson Khaista Rahman and social media influencer Afsar Afghan also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024